1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a new and improved tamper resistant enclosure. More particularly, this invention provides an enclosure for a cable service box that is easy for to service personnel to open and service but resistant to unauthorized access.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Prior art enclosures for protecting cable boxes and telephone lines have proven deficient in a number of respects. Cable television providers currently face many problems with the theft of components and other cable equipment that are mounted in open areas. In some areas, the theft of these types of components such as power supply boxes is a multi-million dollar industry. Cable providers face even more substantial losses of revenue through increased trouble calls, theft of services, theft of splitters, amplifiers, and signal leakage from cable boxes mounted to the exterior of residences. An unauthorized user may access the cable box of an authorized user and engage in signal splitting or other undesirable tampering. Components such as filters, taps, splitters, fittings and coaxial wire may also be stolen from these cable boxes and result in further losses to the cable provider. Such use not only results in lost revenue for the cable provider, but in addition may alienate the authorized user who endures reduced signal quality or service outages.
Signal leakage also results in adverse safety considerations. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and other regulatory agencies have mandated for example that signal leakage be reduced due to the negative effects on emergency communications such as those involving police, fire, aircraft, ham radio, security agencies, television and radio. Signal leakage could possibly disable the communications of safety services or aeronautical navigation systems. Such signal leakage is especially pronounced where not only has cable theft occurred, but the unauthorized users have cut some wires, loosely replaced others, or used cheap after-market splitters.
Enforcement after the fact is difficult for cable providers even though cable theft is a criminal offense in the United States under federal and state law. In theory, the federal Digital Millennium Copyright Act provides particularly stringent regulations against such behavior. However, in many cases, the only evidence left behind of such activities is in the possession of the valid users, and efforts to cut service to those utilizing splitters has an adverse effect on the valid user whose cable box has been accessed. Monitors have been utilized to detect theft and quickly address problems that occur, but these are expensive relative to their benefits.
As a result of the above discussed problems, it is desirable to provide cable housing boxes that prevent entry without detriment to the existing services. Cable providers across the country generally use either pad locks or a round inset lock that can be drilled through or knocked out, such that the lock is merely spinning around in the box and never locking the box itself. The locks also typically use a relatively expensive standardized key that has long since been duplicated to gain entrance to the enclosures. Due to the large number of enclosures and the costs of the locks, providers are reluctant to change the keys often. In addition, the enclosures typically have a housing that is easy to pry open or drill into and, thus, generally easy to break into. This leads to a situation where the enclosures are repeatedly vandalized and their contents accessed. The insecure nature of the prior art enclosures results in increased labor, material, repair and maintenance expenses and a culture of illegal access.
Prior art publications and patents have not addressed the above problems in a satisfactory manner. Many of the existing enclosures require substantial bending of cables entering or exiting the cable box, are difficult for authorized users such as technicians to access, or are prohibitively expensive to manufacture.
Therefore, what is needed is a theft deterrent cable housing box that provides easy access for an authorized user to the inside of the box while minimizing the likelihood of unauthorized access. It would further be desirable for such a device to be of relatively low cost and have easy access for cables passing to and from the box.